U.S Authorities Accuse Portland Imam of Militant Ties
By Faith News Note,
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a petition in federal court against Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman Kariye, a longtime imam at the Islamic Center of Portland, the largest mosque in Oregon.
According to the complaint, Kariye traveled from the U.S. to Afghanistan in the 1980’s and fought with the mujahedeen against Soviet forces in Afghanistan, dealing directly with Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam, founders of Al Qaeda. Authorities say in the 1990’s, Kariye recruited sympathizers and raised funds for Maktab al-Khidamat, a pre-cursor of Al Qaeda and also was a founding officer and director of now defunct Global Relief Foundation, a designated terrorist organization.
Federal officials say Kariye concealed these details when he applied for citizenship, which was granted in 1998.
In 2002, Kariye was arrested by an FBI-led anti-terrorism task force. He was sentenced to five-years probation after pleading guilty to using a fraudulent Social Security number and defrauding the state Medicaid program by lying about his income to receive state-funded health insurance.
In 2010, Kariye sued the federal government because his name was on the national no-fly list. 17 other people were also part of the lawsuit.
Disclaimer: Articles featured on Oregon Report are the creation, responsibility and opinion of the authoring individual or organization which is featured at the top of every article.